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2003: Vol.
2, Numbers 1-12Read
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Peace in Less Than a Month?

from the unpublished bookScience, Religion, and the Search for God: Bridging the Gapby Richard Sidy

Scientists, philosophers, and theologians
in western civilization have all defined "God" or "Nature" in
human-centered terms rather than seeking to define humans
in terms of divine laws of Cosmos. This is like trying to
contain the ocean in a cup! An infinite concept can not be
defined completely. The very act of definition limits it.
However, one can understand it better and better as one learns
to recognize its manifestations. This is why religion must
not reject science nor must science reject religion. Both
give a different viewpoint in the recognition of the laws
and manifestations of "That" which we call "God," and
both approaches are needed for the expansion of consciousness.

Most people would label a person a fool who stated that
only that which is knowable by the senses and the mind is
real. This would be like a toddler saying that the only reality
is his house and his yard. We are toddlers in the Universe
who wish to explore the Universe and travel beyond the known.
It is the unknown which is fascinating. That is why human
exploration and the urge to progress have been the main impetuses
for historical change. Both science and religion are devoted
to discovering the world beyond our senses and to find realities
beyond the limits of mental reason.

The most far-out scientific speculations of a hundred years
ago are today provable and observable elementary knowledge.
Nevertheless, science is just now beginning to lift the veils
between the physical world and the world of spirit, which
religious mystics have sought to experience throughout ages.
Just as the human search for the laws of matter through science
have revealed many new realities, the spiritual search will
reveal new spiritual realities and the laws which will make
them a part of everyday experience. Both pure scientific
research and pure religious striving may reveal and bring
together different aspects of universal spirit.

Just as science is now demonstrating
that matter is one manifestation on a continuum of existence,
spiritual striving will reveal that the human being is
also one manifestation in a continuum of human spiritual
existence. The electromagnetic spectrum has ranges within
human sense perception — visible
light, color, sound, heat — but it also has ranges
perceptible only by the most refined instruments. Some
electromagnetic energies are still beyond the sensitivity
of scientific instruments. Likewise, people are aware of
the body, the emotions, and the mind, but generally speaking
are not aware of their spiritual essence. They are not
consciously aware of the spiritual existence beyond physical
life.

The search for God in science must reveal the purpose of
the laws of the Universe, while religion must search for
spiritual experience beyond blind faith and self righteousness.
Science has used the laws of matter and energy, largely ignoring
a sacred purpose for such knowledge. This has resulted in
increased dangers to our planet. Much of religion has been
largely negligent of universal spiritual thought beyond worship
and sectarianism.This has resulted in fanaticism, bureaucracy,
the mechanical repetition of prayers, and the goal of amassing
wealth or gaining power. Much religious devotion has become
empty of spiritual energy largely becoming self-satisfying
entertainment. Many religious people do not use spiritual
laws to create self-transformation or to develop God-consciousness.

Both science and religion may lead
to a realization of universality — to
the conclusion that the Universe is governed by absolute
laws and principles. Both may lead ultimately to moral
foundations based upon the sense of human responsibility
as part of this Universe, subject to the same laws and
relationships. The sense of universality may be understood
as a door to God-consciousness and to the understanding
that any act to serve is an act of worship.